Started Without You
by RynUhara
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha had two goals in life when he became a ninja: Killing a certain someone, then restoring his clan. Now that the war had ended and he was on his journey to redemption, it was getting to be time to work on his second goal. Shockingly, however, someone started without him.
1. Chapter 1

"Started Without You" - Chapter 1

Breaks were always a complicated thing when working in the hospital. Sakura Haruno had been doing this for so long now she learned to live with the unexpected emergencies that came through on her shifts and just rolled with whatever punches that were thrown her way.

The most unpredictable patients always seemed to be the ones that came into the maternity ward. It amazed Sakura to no end that something as small as a baby had the power to change a person. She watched many of her regular patients become parents over her years as a medical ninja, finding it astounding how much one could be metamorphosized from panic at the realization that she didn't have the stomach flu like they thought to the ability to surround their lives around caring for their newborn.

No one had a say on when a child would decide to make its way into the world, which always kept everyone in L&D on their toes. Even once they made their appearance, there was no telling when something could go wrong.

Babies were the hardest for Sakura.

They can't speak, and the parents (especially the new ones) seemed to always panic to the point where they weren't able to quiet their minds or mouths long enough to tell if it was just gas or something much more major. Sakura's job was too quiet the things around her and focus on nothing more than the child she was examining.

Like she was now.

"I just fed him, then put him down so he could sleep!" A hysterical mother was hovering over the pinkette. "Then I went to check on him a few minutes later, and his lips were blue. Ren told me that I was just seeing things, but then when he felt of him, he was cold. We rushed here as fast as we could."

Sakura clenched her teeth together as she continued to perform CPR on the tiny infant. She didn't know what was going on, either, but she couldn't show the parents that. She had to remain composed.

 _The patient is four weeks old, male, born at term via spontaneous vaginal delivery._ She mentally went over in her head as she bent over the child to give him air. _Discharged on life day 2 with no complications. Sleeping and eating patterns are normal according to parents' knowledge._

"Please, Doctor! Save our Hiraku!"

Sakura shot a glance to one nurse that was assisting her, signaling her to deal with the parents.

"You need to give her some room to work." She gently stepped between the parents and lead them to the side.

 _I've been at this for thirty minutes now._ Sakura swallowed hard, as she ran more chakra through the still child's body. _No, I can do this!_

She felt a hand on her shoulder, knowing that it was Ino coming in after hearing of her issues of reviving the child.

"Sakura."

"No, I can do this." She quietly whispered, never ceasing her efforts.

"You've been at this for long enough. The attending had been at this 20 minutes before calling you in. You need to-"

"I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING, DAMN IT!"

Ino gently put her hand over Sakura's that was on the baby's chest. She knew her best friend better than anyone in Konoha, so she knew how hard it was for Sakura to come to terms with losing a patient.

"Call it." Sakura quietly ordered another nurse in the room.

She removed her hand from the lifeless baby's body and quickly retreated from the room, refusing to look at the sobbing parents.

Ino called after her to no avail, the young medic had shut off all of her senses. The only thing she felt was a tightness in her chest that she couldn't relieve in front of her subordinates.

Everything was a blur as Sakura made her way to the wing of the hospital where the day clinic was located. Since it was so late in the night, all of the lights were off. She knew this place like the back of her hand, allowing her to make her way to her office in an effortless manner.

She flung the door open, then swiftly shut it and locked it. The young ninja slid herself down the door to the point that she was on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. She began to cry out to the open air, letting out her anger and frustration.

It wasn't fair. The baby was perfectly healthy. She had delivered him herself, so she knew for a fact that he had a long and healthy life ahead of him... Just like the others she had lost before.

Lady Tsunade always insisted that losing patients would get easier, but Sakura had thought that to be a lie. Every time that she couldn't get a pulse to return to a body, she felt a knife twist somewhere within her, bringing a pain that no one could heal.

* * *

After her night shift was over, she was called to the Hokage mansion for a mission request.

Sakura knocked on the office door and entered.

"Ah. Sakura, come in." Kakashi greeted her.

"Good morning, Kakashi-sensei. You said you wanted to see me?"

"Yes." He nodded, shuffling through some papers. After finding the desired document, he held it out to her. "I take it that you remember the unknown traveler that was found in labor a little ways north from the gate."

Sakura took the paper and read through it.

The incident he was talking about had happened a few days ago, on her day off from the hospital. No one had known who this woman was, or why she was out and about as close to the end of her pregnancy like she was. Ino had told Sakura that she was filthy, and had shown no signs of ninja training. She had multiple teeth missing and cuts all over her body. After she had given birth, the nurses had taken the woman to be cleaned up, and they ended up having to cut most of her hair off because of how matted it was. When given a psych evaluation, she had bitten two nurses and tried to swing at the doctor when he got close to her.

The last thing that Sakura had heard about this woman was that when she was asked about her baby, she became hysterical and had to be sedated.

"This is a request written by my head of neonatal care," Sakura said, handing the paper back to Kakashi. "Is this about the baby the lady from the forest gave birth to?"

"I'm sure that you are aware that she is currently not mentally stable enough to care for the child. She doesn't even know her own name or where she is from. Ino has reported that when she examined her mind, she couldn't piece anything together. It's obvious that this isn't a terroristic threat, but this still needs to be treated with the most care possible."

"Of course." Sakura nodded.

"I want you to watch over both of them closely."

"Yes, sir. I'll start the paperwork to get her transferred to the rehabilitation wing. As for the baby, I'll make arrangements for it to be ta-"

"You, yourself, will attend to the baby." Kakashi interrupted her before she could finish.

"Wh-what?"

"Sakura, here." He handed her another piece of paper. "This is a DNA test result done on the baby."

Sakura's eyes scanned over the paper. Her chest tightened when she saw the paternal data results.

"She's an Uchiha? But how? Sasuke is the only-"

"Sasuke isn't the baby's father. We checked the DNA profile and it didn't match."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "But that doesn't make any sense. Who could the father be?"

"I'm not sure. Sasuke may have an idea, but..."

"You haven't told him yet?" Sakura guessed.

Kakashi nodded and gave a half-hearted laugh. "I was hoping you would know a way to tell him."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't blame her former teacher for not telling the Uchiha. Hell, Sakura knew Sasuke better than anyone but even she didn't know how to break the news to him.

"I'll do it, Sensei." Sakura sighed.

"Thank you, Sakura. As for right now, go ahead and rest up at home. Your assignment will start tomorrow."

Sakura didn't know what to think as she walked to her apartment. She had done occasional babysitting for family and lower rank missions. It didn't make sense why Kakashi was asking her to take care of the Uchiha baby, though. It made sense that it would be a target for anyone that knew her lineage, but there was another capable ninja to protect a child.

She ran her hand through her hair, feeling the dampness of sweat that pooled at the roots. She had been running around all night at the hospital and knew she needed a shower.

"Sakura, wait up!"

Sakura looked over her shoulder and saw Ino waving at her to catch her attention.

"What the hell, forehead! You avoided me the whole shift!"

"Sorry..." Sakura hung her head, remembering the fiasco of losing the baby from before.

"Look, you did your best. You're still a kick-ass doctor." Ino gave her a tight hug. "That's what I wanted to tell you. No one can beat SIDS, not even Lady Tsunade."

Sakura swallowed hard. "That's what the ME ruled it?"

"Yes. There wasn't anything you could have done for him, Sakura." Ino had placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders and was looking into her eyes. "Now tell me you understand that."

Sakura nodded. "I understand."

"Good." Ino beamed. "Now, what do you say about having some breakfast before heading off to bed?"

"Actually, I have a mission I need to prepare for. Maybe some other time."

"That's weird. You never get assigned to missions unless they're really important."

"Kakashi-Sensei thinks that it is." Sakura sighed. "I can't give many details right now, but I'll tell you all about it. I'm still going to be around, just not as much as I'd like to be."

"Ah, well, it's the life of a ninja right?" Ino laughed. "I'll see you later, Sakura."

Sakura smiled as she and Ino went their separate ways. She had been so busy lately preparing for her wedding, so time spent with her was rare these days. After last night, though, it was great of Ino to make sure to check on her.

Yes. Everyone was becoming more domesticated as time went on and the village recovered from the war. Naruto was about to become a father, Shikamaru and Temari recently had a child of their own, and Ino and Sai were to be married in a little over a month's time.

Yes... It seemed her friends were moving forward in their lives, while she threw herself into her work. It was all she really could do at this point. She promised Sasuke she'd wait, and he was holding her to that promise. It was just becoming more and more irritating that he rarely paid her any attention these days.

He had been back for a few days to restock and rest before leaving again on his "Journey of Redemption" as Naruto called it, and she still had yet to see him.

Sakura unlocked her apartment door and blinked a few times when a nice aroma hit her. Someone had been cooking in her kitchen.

The medic nin warily put her backpack down after removing her shoes in the doorway before making her way into the room. A light was left on, and she knew it wasn't one she forgot to turn off before leaving for work.

The first thing Sakura saw was a steaming meal next to a hot cup of tea, then she looked to the man that was casually sitting in another seat, sipping on a cup of tea of his own.

"You know the last time I checked, breaking and entering was a crime." Sakura sighed as she took the place that was set for her.

He gave her a smirk. "I don't hear you screaming, and since you haven't thrown any punches, I'm taking it that you don't care that I'm here."

Sakura gave him a small smile. "You know you're always welcome here. I just wish you would stay longer than a week at a time."

His dark eyes met with her green ones. "You know I can't. There's too much I still need to do before returning indefinitely."

Sakura looked down at her food. "Did you make this?"

He nodded.

"Thank you."

She sat and ate in front of him in silence, trying to think of how to bring up what was on her mind. He could tell something was up. She wasn't as animated around him as she normally was.

Sakura laid her chopsticks down and hummed at the pleasant feeling of being full from home cooked food.

"Kakashi-Sensei assigned me to a new mission."

"Ah."

"A few days ago, one of the gate guards came across a woman in labor. She was out of her mind, and still is." Sakura explained. "Kakashi-Sensei wants me to look after her and the child. She's going to be in the psychiatric unit until she's lucid and can speak. I have to bring the baby home with me."

She watched his face, seeing the same confusion she had in why she was assigned to babysit.

Sakura took a deep breath. "There's something you need to know..."

She swallowed hard, knowing that he was waiting for an answer. "Sasuke, the baby has Uchiha blood."


	2. Chapter 2

"Started Without You" Chapter 2

Sakura felt awkward as she and Sasuke walked through the village to the hospital where the baby was being kept. Surprisingly, Sasuke was being his cool self about all of this.

"You said that the child is a girl?"

"Yes. She's three days old now, and since she's healthy enough to leave the hospital, Kakashi-sensei says that she should be in my care full time until he can figure out something else to do with her."

Sakura watched his face. It was so hard to tell what he was thinking, especially when it came to this whole situation.

He stayed quiet after that until they reached the neonatal ward in the hospital where the nursery was.

"Miss Sakura, you're here on your day off." One of the nurses looked surprised to see her, then her eyes widened when she saw the Uchiha at her side.

"We're here for the baby from a couple of days ago. Lord Hokage was supposed to let everyone know she was going to be released into my care until her mother was lucid."

"Oh... I heard the other nurses saying that they didn't have a lot of hope for her. Are you sure about this?"

Sakura nodded. "It's what the Hokage wants."

To be honest, Sakura didn't know what to think of the woman's condition. If this was a permanent placement, she could see how come Kakashi thought she would be a good fit. After all, it wasn't a secret that she and Sasuke were sort of engaged. Well... Not officially.

They weren't even "together" in the normal sense, either. They had just made a silent agreement to care for each other no matter the circumstances. Sasuke was bad with his words, and Sakura had the patience of a saint. She would wait for him to make things official when he was ready.

"We're going to go ahead and go in," Sakura spoke, opening the locked nursery door with her ID card.

The nurse nodded, watching in awe as Sasuke followed her superior inside.

There were five babies in the room. Sasuke's eyes scanned over each one, then rested on the smallest one in the far left corner.

"Is this her?" He asked, looking to the pinkette who was quickly checking the others as they passed their cribs.

Sakura nodded. "I'm surprised you could tell. Most men say babies all look the same."

Sasuke scoffed. "Sakura, you know better than to compare me with _most men_."

She giggled. "I suppose I shouldn't."

They looked over at the little baby. She had a signature pink hospital hat with little black hairs escaping in the front. She had rosy cheeks and her fists were balled up as she stretched her arms over her head. Her onyx eyes fluttered open, unable to quite focus on the two adults watching her.

"I read in books that even though most children are born with blue eyes, those that have kekkei genkai like the Uchiha clan tend to already be born with their natural eye color," Sakura said as she gently picked up the baby. "The dominant trait of the Uchiha clan are black eyes."

Sasuke nodded. "And no one else knows?"

Sakura shook her head. "As rare as it sounds, it's actually pretty common for children to already be born with dark eyes. It's just more common for them to be blue at birth. Her mother has dark eyes, so no one has suspected anything yet."

Sakura cradled the baby to her chest and looked up to Sasuke.

"Does she have a name?"

Sakura frowned. "Her mother doesn't speak. It's usually standard for a person without a name to be called Hanako Yamada. She's been known as baby Yamada since her mother's name is unknown, too."

Sasuke frowned. That wouldn't do.

"You know, since you're technically the head of her clan, you have the authority to choose her name."

He looked to Sakura, a little shocked by her words. He forgot about that for a moment. Any time that a clan leader wanted, they were allowed to redact the given name of a child and give them a new one.

"Do you have any ideas?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura shook her head. "No, actually."

He looked at the baby and clicked his tongue. "Her cheekbones look like tiny mochi."

Sakura giggled at his observation. "She'll be teased with a name like Mochi."

Sasuke looked at her in annoyance. "I wasn't saying that was her name."

Sakura smiled down at the baby. "Momo sounds cute, though. It's more proper, anyway."

The Uchiha looked at the squirming baby. "Momo, huh?"

"It's just a suggestion," Sakura spoke up, feeling suddenly flustered. Her cheeks turned bright pink as she looked away from Sasuke's stare.

"Her name is Momo," Sasuke stated, causing Sakura to look up at him again. He seemed determined and satisfied by his decision.

* * *

After changing the baby and signing her discharge paperwork, the pair left the hospital with the newborn in tow. Sakura felt even more awkward than she did on the way to the hospital now as they walked through the shops to get the baby's necessities.

Sakura had wrapped the baby against her chest so her hands were free as they looked around. Sasuke kept glancing down at her, obviously uneasy about the situation.

"Don't worry," Sakura reassured him. "She's not going to fall out or anything."

"Hn." Sasuke tried to make it seem like he hadn't been worried, which would have worked on anyone else _but_ Sakura.

She giggled and gave him a warm smile. "If you're like this now, I can't wait to see when you're a father."

"Tch." Sasuke turned his face, trying to hide the pink tinge to his cheeks by looking down at a small baby trinket.

Sakura frowned as she looked through some of the clothing options the shop had available. Momo was so tiny, it was hard to think that a baby her size would fit into some of the things she went through.

"Oi, Sakura!" Sakura tensed when she heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance.

She turned to see a heavily pregnant Hinata, along with Naruto and all of his obnoxiousness.

"Hey, Teme is here too!" He beamed as they came closer to the two. "What brings you two here?"

"Actually, I'm here because of a mission Kakashi-Sensei assigned me to," Sakura explained.

Naruto raised his eyebrows, looking at the bundle against Sakura's chest. "Hey, Hinata. Weren't you talking about doing that when you had the-"

He blinked a few times after stopping himself. "Wait a sec! Don't tell me you and Teme have a kid all of a sudden?!"

Sakura flinched at the noise, hoping it didn't disturb the baby.

Naruto tried to grab at the bundle for a better look, but Sasuke grabbed his wrist instead. "Weren't you listening you dobe?"

"Oww!" Naruto whined, pulling his arm away. "Okay, so it's a mission from Kakashi-Sensei. My mistake. It just has black hair, so I wanted to tease you is all."

Hinata gently reached out a hand to the baby and smiled. "How old is it?"

"Three days." Sakura returned the smile. "Her name is Momo, and she's going to be staying with me for a while."

Hinata stared in awe at the child as she placed her other hand on her stomach. It wouldn't be too long until she had her own child in her arms.

"Hey, do you guys wanna go get lunch with us? We actually only stopped in because we saw you in here, Sakura." Naruto said, putting his arms behind his head. "It's been a while since we've all been together, you know?"

Sakura looked to Sasuke, who sighed and nodded.

"Yes!" Naruto cheered. "Let's go!"

He led the way out of the shop. Sasuke gave the shop owner money for the few things they had purchased and followed the blonde and his wife to Ichiraku.

Sakura smiled down to Momo as they walked. Naruto's yelling didn't seem to phase the baby one bit, which made her more impressed with the infant. It must have been something about the Uchiha in her that made the blonde's outbursts tolerable. She was completely content with snuggling up to Sakura's breasts and snoozing away.

When they sat down to eat, however, that was when things started to go awry.

Sakura lifted up her chopsticks to her mouth when she heard Momo let out a little whine.

She sighed and put her food down and shifted the baby to where she could tend to her. Momo was smacking her lips and her tongue would stick out as if she were trying to find something to latch on.

Sakura nodded in understanding, realizing that she was probably hungry because she had eaten two hours prior. She rummaged through her backpack that she had put pre-made formula bottles from the hospital in.

It was like Momo became instantly impatient with the pinkette and let out a loud cry. Sakura's face turned red from the five sets of eyes on her as she frantically continued to rummage through the bag. She was becoming louder when suddenly Sasuke reached into the wrap and lifted the baby out of it so that Sakura could quicken her search. He awkwardly held Momo away from his body, scared that he was going to break her.

"Aww. Look at Teme being all nurturing." Naruto laughed, earning a glare from the Uchiha. "She can't bite you."

Once the bottle was made, Sakura reached to take the child from Sasuke. He handed Momo over and continued with his meal as if nothing had happened.

Sakura expertly balanced the bottle so Momo could eat, and allowed Sakura a free hand to eat her own food as well.

This was the most domestic she and Sasuke had felt in a long time.

* * *

Later that evening, Sakura and Sasuke had gone to Sakura's apartment with Momo after telling Naruto and Hinata their goodbyes.

Sakura grabbed a pillow from her room and laid it on her couch. As light as the newborn was, the pinkette's back was still sore from the extra weight she had been carrying around her for the last few hours. She laid the baby on the pillow and freed her from the swaddle she was in. She smiled as the infant stretched out her arms and legs and let out a huge yawn before staring up at her caretaker.

Sakura sighed and sat down. She didn't know how she was going to do this. She had never cared for an infant overnight before, and she didn't have anywhere for Momo to sleep.

Sasuke sat on the opposite end of the couch from Sakura, watching her and the infant carefully.

"So..." Sakura began, the awkwardness returning to her. "Have you decided when you're leaving?"

Sasuke scoffed. As if he'd leave right now of all times. This child changed all of his plans for the foreseeable future. He didn't want to leave Sakura with all of this responsibility by herself, especially since she wasn't even an Uchiha. As head of the clan, it was as much his responsibility as hers to make sure that the baby was safe.

But, of course, he wouldn't say that out loud.

"Not yet." Was all he could bring himself to answer to her.

"Where have you been staying? I know that the Uchiha compound is still under construction and all. I've been helping Kakashi-Sensei oversee it while you've been away."

Sasuke looked surprised at this information. He tried to hold back a smirk at the thought of her choosing the layout of his future home. She was definitely the perfect person to assist on the project.

"I've been staying with Naruto." He answered. "It isn't the most desirable situation, but it's shelter where I'm welcome."

Sakura huffed, giving him a slightly annoyed look.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"You know she's going to give birth any day now, right? You saw her." She put her hands on her hips. "I know Naruto is your best friend and everything, but he has more things to focus on at the moment. Hinata is also a very doting hostess, and she really shouldn't have to worry about your arrangements."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes. What else did she expect him to do?

Sakura sighed. "Look, I guess I'm just trying to look out for one of my patients. I know you don't have many options." She looked down at her hands, suddenly feeling shy. "But... Like I told you before... You're always welcomed here."

Sasuke allowed himself to smirk. So was this her real problem? She wanted him to rely on her a little more.

He reached over the infant and brought his fingers to her forehead, causing her to jump a little in surprise.

"Sakura..." He gave her a slight smile. "Do you mind if I stay with you for a while?"

Her face heated up more at his question. "I wouldn't have said anything if my answer was going to be no."

Momo squeaked, bringing their focus back to her. Sakura smiled down at the infant, who was blowing bubbles at her lips. She affectionately stroked the top of her head where most of her hair gathered.

"She really is something special, isn't she?" Sakura hummed as the baby squeezed on to the finger she offered.

Sasuke smirked, a bit of pride welling up inside his chest. The child wasn't his, but she was still an Uchiha.

"Sasuke..." Sakura started to ask him something, but she changed her mind.

"Hm?"

"Ah... Never mind. It wasn't that important." She waved off the thought.

In all reality, she was going to ask him how he felt about the child and the fact that someone had started restoring the Uchiha clan without his knowledge. Not only that, but there was a question that was nagging at her to ask, but she knew she'd never been able to bring herself to do it.

When did _he_ want to start contributing to his clan's restoration?

She pushed the question away from her thoughts, hoping that he would say when he was ready.

Sakura leaned back and brought her knees up at an angle and put Momo there so she could check over the child.

"Such a strong girl, aren't you?" Sakura cooed as she moved her fingers over the infant's arms. She lightly ran a hand over Momo's stomach, causing a twitch to come from the child.

Sakura giggled. "A bit ticklish, too."

The infant made slight grunts as she scrunched her face together. She was creating a mess in her diaper for the medic to change later.

Sasuke looked on as the woman played with the infant. He didn't understand the delight she had, seeing how the baby wasn't old enough to smile or babble in response. It made him think of his own future family.

He imagined Sakura with a swollen belly, then giving birth to their child. A child that would one day grow, and possibly encourage the thought of having another one a little after its first years of life.

Sasuke swallowed. He didn't deserve that kind of life. Not with her.

But she deserved to be happy, and he knew that her happiness was with him. It was just so damn hard to reciprocate her feelings.

The Uchiha was never the affectionate type, but Sakura knew that. She was always the best at reading him. That was why when she made eye contact after looking up from the tiny infant, her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink as if she knew what he was thinking.

"You know... Everyone seems to be settling down now." She said as she put the infant back on the pillow between her and the man. She picked up her backpack and got the supplies she needed to change Momo. "Sai and Ino are getting married. Naruto and Hinata are about to have a child. It's just so crazy. Especially the thought of Naruto being a father."

She laughed as she unbuttoned the onesie at the bottom.

"Hn." Sasuke nodded. "Let's hope the tame nature she has outweighs the idiocy of the Dobe. The world can't take another Naruto."

"There can never be another Naruto. You know that." Sakura smiled.

Sasuke watched her gentle movements as she changed the baby. It was like she was used to doing things like that. He guessed it was because of her chosen profession. He could never see himself being that comfortable handling a baby. Then again, all he felt like he knew how to do was subdue or kill and not nurture or soothe.

"Sasuke... You know you'll have to face your fears sooner or later." Sakura suddenly spoke up as she snapped the buttons back. She held up the infant to him, causing his eyes to widen. "You held her earlier when she was fussing, so why not try it again? This time, try not acting like she's going to harm you."

Sasuke gave her a wary look. Was she being serious?

"Come on, you've been watching me the whole time I've had her. You know that deep down you really would like to." She gave him a daring smirk.

"Tch." Sasuke looked away. How was he supposed to say no after the way she was practically taunting him?

She motioned for Sasuke to situate himself before she placed Momo in the crook of his arm.

"There we go." Sakura smiled. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Sasuke stared down at the infant, completely captivated by the calmness of the child. She yawned and met her onyx eyes with his. The man swallowed. She didn't hate him.

He had become so accustomed to children fearing him. Maybe it was because of the energy the parents gave off as he passed by. His reputation as a traitor made him hated everywhere he went. He was barely earning the trust back of his own village. His travels had proven that he still had a lot of work to do to earn trust from the outside lands.

"Look, she's falling asleep." Sakura smiled as the infant cuddled closer to Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke's chest tightened. What was this feeling?

Sakura reached over and stroked the baby's hair. "Sasuke, just because other people have taught their children to fear you doesn't mean that all of them do."

"She's a baby." He sighed. "She doesn't understand the blood on our names."

"No one that doesn't know you will ever be able to." Sakura got closer to him and ran her fingers through Sasuke's hair. It was a bold move on her part.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked at her. "Is this why you insisted I hold her? So I don't have a free arm to protest your touch?"

Sakura's face turned red at his words. "I-it's not that!"

She retracted her hand and looked down at her fists in her lap. "Sasuke... I just want you to know that I'm ready whenever you are."


	3. Chapter 3

"Started Without You" Chapter 3

Sakura didn't expect Sasuke to react as he did when those words left her mouth.

It was as if the Uchiha panicked, which was sort of mildly amusing after she thought more about it since he was usually so stone-faced.

What wasn't amusing though was the fact that the bastard had quickly cast a strong genjutsu to force Sakura into a sleep-like state to avoid the conversation she had started.

That was why when Sakura found herself in her bed when she finally woke up, she was ready to punch him _so hard_.

She threw her sheets off of her body and threw her door open. She stopped herself when she saw Sasuke standing in the middle of the room soothing Momo's cries.

Sakura didn't realize it was the middle of the night until she seen the moonlight hitting the two in such a way that it made her breathless.

Sasuke had been so focused on the child that he hadn't noticed Sakura watching his movements with a careful eye.

He had created a shadow clone to grab a bottle for the baby and feed her since his only arm was being occupied by the infant. It was a clever move on his part, and Sakura couldn't help but be proud of him for being so resourceful.

The clone had looked up and scowled when he met his eyes with Sakura's. Sakura only gave him an amused smirk in response as she walked over.

"You know, I was ready to beat you senseless."

"Hmph."

"How long have I been out?" Sakura asked as she stretched her arms.

"Four hours."

"Ah." Sakura folded her arms and gave the Uchiha another smirk. "I see that Momo has you wrapped around her finger."

"Hn." Sasuke looked away from the pinkette. He hated it when she teased him.

Once the baby had finished her bottle, Sasuke dismissed the clone and quickly put Momo in Sakura's arms.

Sakura proceeded to burp the baby over her shoulder and continued to look at the Uchiha, waiting for him to explain his actions from earlier.

Sasuke quickly glanced at her. He noticed the annoyed undertones in her expression, knowing exactly what was on her mind.

"Tch." He rolled his eyes and flopped on to her couch.

"You can't ignore me forever, you know." Sakura sighed.

"I'm not."

"Then what in the hell was that, earlier?!"

"Annoy-"

"Don't you _dare_ call me that, Uchiha! Right now, _you're_ the annoying one!" She put Momo down into a nearby basket that Sasuke had apparently put together as a make-shift bed for the infant and put her hands on her hips. "You know as well as I do that we need to address some of these things."

She turned around to face him. "Sasuke, our friends are getting married and having children. We're not getting any younger. I'd like to be able to raise my own child at the same time as my friends, and we all know that can't happen until you man up and take charge!"

"Take charge, huh?" Sasuke looked at the woman with an amused look in his eyes. He quickly appeared before her and pinned her to the wall behind her.

Sakura let out a small squeak, not prepared for his sudden movements.

The Uchiha moved his lips to her ear and gave a light chuckle. "Sakura, I don't think you realize just what you're asking for."

Sakura stiffened when she heard the lust that was laced into his voice.

 _So he's been holding himself back after all._

Sasuke gently nipped at her ear and removed himself from her when he got his desired reaction.

He then turned away from her as if nothing had happened, leaving Sakura in a flustered daze.

"Th-that's not fair, you know." She finally found her words.

"Hn," Sasuke smirked as he went back to his spot on the couch.

Sakura decided that this meant war.

She acted as if she was going to the kitchen as she made her way around the couch the raven-haired man was comfortably lounging on. When she was directly behind him, she grabbed the back of the sofa and flipped herself over to where she was completely straddling his waist.

"Sasuke~" Sakura purred as she brought her face nose to nose with his. "I'm not going to let you run this time."

"What are you doing, Sakura?"

Sakura smirked and wrapped her arms around his torso. "It's called payback."

She boldly came forward and licked his neck, causing the man to shudder underneath her. He wasn't prepared for her to do such a thing.

"Stop." Sasuke croaked out, trying to sound as calm and stoic as he could manage.

That only encouraged Sakura's assault on him more, as she snaked an arm behind his head and lightly ran her hand through his hair. She moved her focus to his mouth, capturing his lips with hers.

He couldn't help but kiss her back at that point.

Sakura lightly bucked her hips over his, eliciting a groan from the Uchiha.

The pinkette teasingly made a moan of her own as she broke their kiss and brought her hips down harder on him.

"Sakura, enough," Sasuke growled as he gripped her thigh, trying to get her to stop.

Sakura looked up at him with lust-filled eyes, causing the man to swallow hard. He really wanted to keep things going, but for her sake, he had to get her to stop.

He lightly pushed her to the side, looking away from her disappointed gaze as he did so.

He hadn't noticed her tears until he heard her sniff a few minutes later.

Sasuke sighed and pulled her back into his chest. "Not now."

"Why?" She choked out. "Am I not good enough to-"

"Sakura, it's not _you_." Sasuke hissed, catching her off guard.

Sakura looked up at him, instantly knowing what he meant by that when she saw the pained look on his face. He wasn't ready to take her as he was in that moment. He still had a lot of growth he wanted to achieve before bringing her into his bed.

The pinkette wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry."

Sasuke gently brought her chin to look up at him.

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before they finally let their lips meet once more. This time it was more of a gentle kiss, almost as if it were Sasuke's way of apologizing.

Sakura sighed contently and laid her head in his lap.

After their little exchange, she decided that she could wait just a little longer.

* * *

"You grinded yourself on him?!" Ino gasped, her eyes wide.

She had come over to Sakura's apartment before her shift at the hospital while Sasuke had gone out to train.

Sakura was feeding Momo while she had told Ino everything that had happened the night before. Her face was red with embarrassment due to the fact that she really did tell Ino _everything_.

"Ugh!" Ino groaned dramatically. "I can't believe you could be so lucky. Do you realize how many people try to get _some_ kind of reaction out of him?!"

"You do remember that you gave up on him for Sai, right?" Sakura reminded her with a smirk.

"Well duh! Still, my younger self would have gone nuts!"

Sakura laughed. She was so grateful that she and Ino had grown past their childish tactics from their past.

"And to think all it took was help from that cute thing." Ino cooed at the milk-drunk baby when Sakura took away the bottle and offered the infant to Ino.

"You still haven't said why you're the one who has to take care of her," Ino noted as she gladly took the baby.

"I'm not sure if Kakashi-Sensei wants me to talk to anyone other than Sasuke about the real reason yet because it's so important." Sakura sighed. "Believe me, when I'm able to tell you, I'll let you know everything."

"You better," Ino smirked, then made cute faces at the baby. "Because that's what friends do, right little Momo?"

Sakura smiled as she adored the way Ino looked with the child. Knowing the blonde, she was probably going to try having one of her own with Sai within a year after their marriage. Sakura was confident that Ino was going to be a great mother.

"So, have you heard anything from Naruto today?" Ino asked.

"Nothing yet." Sakura sighed. "With my luck, I just know that Hinata will go into labor in the dead of night."

"Better yet, probably when you and Sasuke are about to get it on for the first time." Ino chuckled.

Sakura's face darkened. That would be just like the child of Naruto Uzumaki.

"I'm kidding! No need to look so serious."

"I can't help it. Especially with him staying here for a while, it's getting harder for me to restrain myself from jumping his ass." Sakura buried her face into a nearby pillow and groaned. "It doesn't help that he's _so good_ with Momo, and it just makes me go crazy with how sexy that is! It's like he doesn't even realize what he does to me."

"Oh, I think after last night he probably does." Ino teased. "I think openly telling him that you're ready for a baby says it _all_."

Sakura sighed and sat back up. "Yeah, me and my big fat mouth."

Her mind wandered to Sasuke. She wondered if he was as bothered about the night before as much as she was, and exactly what his thoughts were when it came to their relationship.

She didn't scare him off, did she?

* * *

"So tell me again why we're all here?" Shikamaru asked as he and three others sat around a table at Konoha's best BBQ joint.

"I couldn't really tell you. Teme is the one that made me bring you guys." Naruto shrugged.

Three sets of eyes turned to the Uchiha, who had suddenly decided that the meeting was a bad idea and started to get up and leave.

"Is everything okay, Traitor?" Sai cocked his head in confusion.

He looked away and clicked his tongue. How in the world would he be able to even ask them for help when they couldn't even put two and two together?

Weren't his reasons to call the married (and soon to be married) shinobi all together good enough to realize just what he wanted to talk about?

"Oh, I think I get it." Naruto beamed and put an arm around Sasuke. "Sakura yelled at you for doing something stupid, and so you're asking if one of us can let you crash at our houses. Well Teme, Sakura would yell at me if I let you stay again so I'm gonna have to give it a no."

Sasuke glared at the idiot and shrugged him off. That wasn't it at all!

"Jeez, you guys are so troublesome." Shikamaru sighed. "I mean, I could ask Temari if she would be ok-"

"That's not why." Sasuke cut him off.

"Oh, then are you perhaps having issues in bed?" Sai asked, earning an even more intense glare from the Uchiha.

"I'll take that as a no," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck. "So out with it, Teme. What's the issue?"

Sasuke looked away from the three men and mumbled something under his breath.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, cupping his hand around his ear. "What was that? We can't hear you!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto again. He was really going to make him say it out loud where everyone was able to hear him.

"Tch. Forget it." Sasuke said as he began to stand up and leave, only to be trapped by Shikamaru's jutsu. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the man, who just casually acted like he hadn't done anything.

"You called us here, so you might as well not waste our time," Shikamaru spoke.

Sasuke looked away again and sighed. He knew that the question he was about to ask could possibly damage his Uchiha pride for the rest of his life.

"How... Did you... Propose?"


End file.
